As we enter Thanksgiving Break, I can’t help but feel enormously thankful for our Saint Joseph’s Episcopal School community. The faculty/staff, students, and parents truly add something special to my life, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I hope you and yours have a fantastic Thanksgiving, full of family, friends, fellowship, and delicious food!

What a fun event last month’s Trunk or Treat was! Very special thanks to the Development Team (Kelly DuBois and Janet Sanchez) for facilitating a spooktacular night, which surpassed last year’s earnings! Thank you also to Heather Johansen for donating and running the evening’s bar—which also included donations from Bo Eaton! It seemed that everyone had a wonderful time, and I must congratulate again the winners of Best Overall Trunk, the Fedele family, for their Jurassic World-themed display. I look forward to next year’s event already!

Chipotle Night on the 8th was a success, yielding close to $500! Special thanks to our Parent Organization for working with Chipotle and for planning this event. As I waited in line, it was wonderful to see the entire restaurant completely filled with St. Joe’s families! The next PO event is a Movie Night on Friday, December 1st. Elf will be shown on the field—weather permitting. RSVP to Kelly at (561) 732-2045.

Congratulations to our students—and one of our parents—who earned St. Francis Awards at the beginning of the month: Barby L. (First Grade), Matthew P. (First Grade), Lily C. (Second Grade), Cain D. (Third Grade), Taylor W. (Third Grade), Hailey M. (Fifth Grade), Maggie R. (Fifth Grade), Morgan W. (Fifth Grade), Mason F. (Sixth Grade), Michael F. (Sixth Grade), Eric McCabe (Parent), and the Seventh Grade class! For those who do not know, individuals and classes are nominated by administrators, teachers, parents, and/or students for showing the grace and dedication of Saint Francis to their friends, to our school community, and to animals, to name a few. We honor nominees monthly during a Friday Morning Prayer service.

I hope you received the beautiful Jaguar Fund brochure in the mail by now. (If you haven’t, please let me know.) This is one of our most important initiatives each year, as monies raised help bridge the gap between tuition and expenses. We have been blessed to also utilize Jaguar Fund contributions to enhance our campuses in a variety of ways, which are listed in the brochure. This year, I’m excited about launching The 1958 Society for those who give at the Founders Circle—$1,958 and above. A portion of the donations at this level will be used to start a five-year Endowment in honor of our sixtieth year!

This month at our Early Childhood Academy (ECA), students celebrated Thanksgiving with songs and a slice of apple pie! Students are also busy preparing for their December event, the annual Winter Gala. As always, give Dolores a call at (561) 278-7735 if you need more information!

Looking ahead to December, one can feel quite overwhelmed… We have three Christmas concerts (Reichert Center on the 5th, Lower School on the 6th, and Middle School’s Lessons & Carols on the 13th), Santa’s Workshop is from the 13th through the 15th (with shopping occurring on the 14th), and students in Grades Five through Eight “show what they know” on Midterm Exams from the 20th through the 22nd.

Thank you for your vital part in the mission of Saint Joseph’s Episcopal School through your prayers, financial gifts, and advocacy. For those of you who are not on campus every day, you are always welcome to see firsthand all of the good that is happening in the lives of our students because of your support! As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please reach out to the Office, to specific faculty/staff members, and/or to me directly.

In our SmartLab, a new sign now adorns the wall above the Facilitator’s desk. It illustrates the philosophy of the SmartLab—and STREAM in general. Ms. Cunningham designed it herself, and we are very proud that we’re teaching our students how to learn and to be lifelong learners! It all starts with a question or a problem needing to be solved; then, utilizing problem solving, communication, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and self-direction, it becomes an idea or a solution!

In Art, students in Grades Six and Seven participated in a “STREAM Learning Adventure” by designing their own Mandalas. Students learned about radial symmetry, blending and shading colors, folding to create sections, and the cultural and spiritual meaning of Mandalas. Thank you to Mrs. Jacobs for facilitating such a wonderful cross-curricular lesson and project! (Oh, and the students’ Mandalas are on display in the Office, so come by and see!)